It was meant to help me find a job…
Fifteen years ago today, I was laid off from my position as VP of Strategic Marketing for a nonprofit. It wasn’t completely unexpected since I had already survived a couple of rounds.
But surviving that long was no consolation. It was the second time I’d received such a call in two and a half years. Back in early 2009, I suffered the same fate while working as Director of Product for a startup game developer. And that time I had worked for only six months.
One layoff was bad. A second had me questioning my value.
But more importantly, I wasn’t the only one who relied on my ability to produce a paycheck. I was the primary source of income for our growing family. My wife Lisa and I had three boys, ages 10, 7, and 3.
I didn’t know what to do next. But two days later, I purchased a domain.
This is the story of that website.
The Birth of jonloomer.com
When I purchased jonloomer.com, I didn’t envision starting a business. There was no master plan to write about Facebook ads. At that point, my only plan was to showcase my skills and experience to help me find another job.
Prior to the two layoffs, I had an amazing three-season run managing fantasy games for the National Basketball Association. So while my path was bumpy, the years between 2005 and 2011 were loaded with unique experiences that should have made me easily employable.
But those experiences also added complications. I was spoiled with some great jobs and didn’t want to settle. And moving wasn’t an option.
We had moved a lot as a young family, mainly because of my career. We would call six buildings home in seven years, spanning four cities and two trips across the country. I refused to move us again.
So I built a very primitive website on a free template so that I could send potential employers somewhere. And I just started writing.
Since my latest experiences centered on topics related to marketing and social media, the topics I covered were generally about those things. Lots about Facebook, but it started mostly with personal use of the platform. Questions about privacy and the news feed were hot topics back then. But I also wrote about Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest, and just about anything that was relevant at the time.
The job offers didn’t come. I don’t recall even having interviews.
I took on a little bit of contract work, but we were burning through savings. I wasn’t finding a job, and it didn’t seem like my blog posts about random social media topics were helping.
And that’s even though I managed to write a few posts that went semi-viral. While those posts certainly didn’t lead directly to business or revenue of any kind, they helped me start to understand the potential of a blog.
I didn’t start a Facebook page until November, more than two months after this website began.
I didn’t begin building an email list until the end of December.
About six months after I launched the website, I started finding a niche in Facebook marketing. I had plenty to write about, and there was also an audience for it. Traffic followed.
My focus in these early days was on helping small businesses and nonprofits. Meanwhile, I was hardly a small business, nor was I making a profit.
Bills piled up. Desperation kicked in. I monetized my blog with AdSense, which did better than you might assume. I started affiliate relationships with brands and products I was already using. I even sold ad space on my website when traffic picked up.
I did all of the things you do to make money before actually having something to sell.
I started experimenting with Facebook ads. Remember that I didn’t have money to spend, so I was spending as little as $1 per day.
But Facebook ads were starting to catch on. And back then, you could learn some things while spending very little.
I wrote about my experiences with ads. Traffic followed. I dug deeper into how Facebook ads worked and experimented as much as anyone possibly could at a low budget. I learned and wrote and experimented and shared everything.
Traffic followed.
I started a podcast (“The Podcast With No Name”) and hosted the rawest version on pages of this website. I followed a tutorial written by Marcus Sheridan about how to record a show and embed an audio player.
And I wrote and wrote and wrote.
I also read and learned and experimented and failed. I followed a lot of people who started a trail before me. I followed before I could start my own path.
One day, I realized something. I had an active email list. They might buy something from me. I didn’t know how to build anything, but maybe it didn’t have to be that complicated.
So I sent an email with a PayPal link for a service called Facebook Page Review. It was primitive and underpriced and it would never scale.
But people bought it.
About 14 months after the start of this website, I launched a training course that would change everything. For $147, you could learn everything about Facebook Power Editor. It was the Chrome extension that only the most advanced advertisers used to get access to all of the most advanced features. But it was clunky and complicated and confusing.
And more people bought that course than I could ever have dreamed. It changed my life. I was no longer looking for a job because I was officially a business owner.
A 15-Year Journey
I would eventually publish nearly 2,500 posts and pages here, including about 600 during those first two years. This website became the hub of what became a business. It attracted people looking to learn more about Facebook ads. It guided them to free guides, more content, and opportunities to purchase courses, membership, or a one-on-one session.
How I used this website would ebb and flow, but it would always be the central driver to everything else. If I stopped writing, traffic and revenue would slow. And sometimes, I needed to stop writing.
I’m most grateful for the fact that, because of this website, I was able to control my own hours. And that meant enjoying time with my growing boys that couldn’t be replaced. Hours and hours spent coaching their baseball teams, watching them play, walking them to and from school, and participating in their lives.
This website documents the 15-year evolution of Meta ads, but it also documents 15 incredible years of my life and business. Meta is releasing a new feature, and I’m entering a new phase in my life.
A Lot Has Changed
I remember the five and 10-year anniversaries, but this feels different. Very few of the people who were the big names when I started are still visible now. Some may have been so successful that they’ve stepped out of the public eye. But many moved on to something else.
Nothing was mobile friendly 15 years ago (including this website), and now people are using AI to build websites and apps. It’s Meta ads now, not Facebook ads. There’s no Power Editor. My name and face may not be as well known as they once were. But it’s been a great 15 years. And I’m deeply proud to be standing today.
I’m proud of the sweat behind the millions of words published to this website. Not bad for someone who had no clue how to start a business.
Not bad at all.
What’s Next?
I’m not going anywhere, though that day will come. I was 36 when this website was started, and I’m 51 now. My kids were 10, 7, and 3, and now they’re 25, 22, and 18. Instead of coaching their baseball teams, I’m seeing them off to college or their next journey. I’m on to my next phase as a father, and I’m looking for that next phase in this business.
Years ago when people would ask me how long I planned to do this, I’d laugh and say I didn’t plan to be talking about Facebook ads when I’m 60. I still hope that’s true.
But I’ve got more businesses to help until then. And I have plenty more words left in me that need to be written.
Thanks to the many people I’ve crossed paths with during the past 15 years. The friends who helped me believe in myself. The leaders who helped guide me. The customers who helped make this a business. And the community who made it all worthwhile.
And thanks to Tracy, Luke, and Joel for being part of my team for much of the past 10 years. You’ve each played an important role in helping me keep this business going.
Thanks to Lisa for supporting this crazy journey, even when it seemed insane. And thanks to our amazing boys for giving me a reason to never give up.
Finally, thanks for visiting my website today and during the past 15 years. It’s because of people like you that I stayed motivated, through the good and the bad, to just keep writing.
